Melting Point
by Neutralside
Summary: Throughout her teenage years Ed never showed much of an interest in guys, she had better things to do. Now she finds herself attracted to the one man who will never let her live it down. RoyxEd[female]
1. Chapter 1

**Melting Point**

A/N: This idea started as a smut request on another site for a Femme!Ed pairing, but then I decided to start it over and didn't want to get rid of all this writing. So I'm turning it into a regular non-smut fic. In this story Fullmetal was born female instead of male. It takes place after the end of the series. AU since I changed it for the story plot to work. It's a cross between the anime and manga stories.

Rated mature for adult themes and language.

Disclaimer: I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist or any of the characters.

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Ch.1

"Hey there, cutie. Where are you headed?"

Alphonse Elric cringed. The guy really shouldn't have said it. He should have known better. Then again, his older sister wasn't exactly the average young woman. Al had grown up with her, the guys who had the bad luck of attempting to flirt with her had not. He smiled, feeling a tinge of sympathy for the guy in front of them as he halted in his tracks, eyes wide in shock at the expression Ed had. A sneer evil enough to scare any normal person was currently gracing her features.

"You. Think. I'm... _Cute_?" She said slowly, grinding each word out from her clenched jaw.

"Uh...," The unfortunate guy was frozen in place, eyes darting back and forth as if looking for an escape route.

Al sighed and braced himself for what he knew was coming. He was considering tieing a sign to her that read: 'Warning: Hazardous to Anyone With a Penis', but he knew most guys would be concentrating on various parts of her body and be oblivious to the sign. He saw her muscles tense and knew he had to act before the guy was beaten to a pulp.

"I'll show you cute!" Ed lunged and Al grabbed her around the waist just as her hands latched onto the guy's shirt collar, and lifted her up off the floor. He had to strain a little as she was nearly as strong as he was. It had been much easier holding onto her when he had been a seven foot suit of armor.

"I apologise for this," He said to the guy with a laugh," She's usually not this bad."

"Al, let me go right now!" His older sister fumed," I'll transmute his dick to his forehead!"

The guy gulped and took this as the chance to get away without a bruise. Al relaxed as he vanished in the crowd of on-lookers and set her back down. Ed pushed away from him after a moment, growling.

"You should go easier on them, they aren't actually trying to insult you," the teen followed her as she stomped off down the street," In fact, it's the opposite, they like you."

"Yeah, well it's not my fault if they ask for it," She grumbled out, not having really payed attention to what her brother had said.

Al smiled and shook his head. Ed could deny it all she wanted, but she was cute. Well, at first glance anyway. Most guys found her frightening after her bad temper rained all over their parade. Outwardly she acted as if she hated being called cute, but Alphonse could guess the real reason, though he dared not to say it outloud. He had brought her back to life when she'd gotten killed in the final battle with the Homunculi. In return Ed had lost the arm she'd just gotten returned to give Al his body back. Her leg was still real, but she'd ended up with auto-mail for a right arm again. When she'd had two limbs replaced with auto-mail she had worn long-sleaves and pants, no matter how hot it was out side. Now that she had both of her real legs Al had seen her wearing shorts out in public with Winry, though she still only wore long-sleaves unless she was at Winry's house getting repairs done.

Lately, however, Al noticed she was more stand-offish than what was normal for her. That meant she'd been down right grumpy for days in a row. Luckily Al knew when to give her space and keep comments to himself. He figured it was the current assignment Mustang had given her, which consisted of traveling to some backwater town to study a new mineral that had been uncovered in a mine not far from it. She had to report her findings every three weeks, and it wasn't enough to simply have it sent by mail. The General had ordered her to hand in the reports in person. Currently they were heading back to Central to do just that.

Before she'd left for Central Ed had paid a visit to Winry in Risembol since it was on the way. It had been for normal maintenence. They had talked during the process like they always did, but near the end their conversation had deviated down a topic Ed would rather not have discussed, even with her child-hood best friend.

Winry had just finished messing with the finger joints when she'd asked a question out of the blue.

"Hey, Ed?" Winry said while putting the oil canister away.

"Hm?"

"Have you ever... you know...," She trailed off.

Ed turned in her seat to look at her," Have I what?"

"You know... done... _that_." She tried to illuminate by making an odd gesture with the wrench she was holding.

The alchemist raised an eyebrow at her," Just say it instead of being cryptic, or we'll be here all day."

Winry sighed in frustation," Well if you want me to be blunt. Fine. Have you ever _masturbated_?"

Ed blushed slightly," W-why... would you want to know that?"

She stared down at the wrench in her hands," Because... you've been acting all hot and bothered lately."

"W-what are you talking about?" Ed sputtured.

The blonde sighed again," Come on, I've known you what.. all my life pretty much? You act as if I wouldn't notice. You practicaly maimed the last guy who approached you. Al told me about it."

Ed looked away and muttered the word 'traitor' under her breath, some agitation replacing the embarrasment," Yeah, well he had it coming to him."

"Not really, that's the thing, Ed, he didn't deserve it."

She huffed and scowled, "Sure, put the blame on me."

"Ed..."

The alchemist turned further away from her. She heard Winry walk over to her, but refused to look up when she came into view.

"So... tell me... who is he?"

"I don't know what you mean," She crossed her arms over her chest.

"Hm..." Winry began to walk in slow circles around her, tapping one end of the wrench on her chin," Let me see if I can guess then..."

Ed snorted.

"Is it... no... not him.. hmm... is it...," She paused in her steps," Ohhh..."

Her arms were trembling with the force of trying not to explode and yell at the mechanic.

Winry put her hands on her hips and grinned," I think I know."

"That's nice."

The mechanic giggled," I'll probably be right too."

"Yeah, sure you will."

Winry stood in front of her, a look of triumph on her face, "It's that General, isn't it?"

Ed nearly fell over in shock, she really hadn't expected her to guess correctly.

Her friend laughed," Now I know why you're so tense, he's your first crush right?"

"No, I don't like him at all," Ed growled, face red." He pisses me off."

"Well, crushes are purely physical attraction for the most part. It has nothing to do with whether you get along with him."

Her lips set in a hard line," I'm not attracted to him."

"Denying it isn't going to change the fact that it's true, Edith."

Ed shot up from her seat," Don't call me Edith, you know I hate my name!"

"I'm going to, because you need to at least admit it out loud."

Fullmetal crossed her arms again," I admit to nothing."

"Edith."

She felt her eye twitch.

"_Edith._"

A growl rose up from her throat.

"Eeeediiitttthhh..."

"That's it!"

Just as she was about to lunge the door opened and Al peered in," Are you two almost done? We have to get going if we're going to catch the train."

All current thoughts halted as she remembered why she was in a bad mood to begin with. Her arms dropped loosely to her sides.

She nodded," Yeah we're almost done."

"Okay, all our things are down stairs in the kitchen," With that Al closed the door. She listened as the sound of Al's foot steps disappeared down the hall.

The room remained silent for a moment before Winry spoke," So, what are you going to do?"

"Nothing."

"Well, I was thinking, if you could get a picture of him, or find a guy who resembles him..."

Ed gawked," What? Are you insane?"

"Come on, it's going to stay difficult to be around him if you don't do something about it."

"I think I can manage, thanks."

Winry sighed," You're so stubborn."

"You're one to talk."

She went to grab the doorknob but the mechanic blocked her path.

"Damnit, move," Ed glared up at her friend.

"When you get there, afterwards I want you to call me and tell me how it went."

She frowned,"No way."

"Yes, you're going to call me, so then I can talk to you more about it, since you have to leave now," The mechanic said in a dangerous tone.

Ed sighed, once Winry decided something and told you about it, it was impossible to change her mind.

"Alright."

The mechanic gave a bright smile and stepped aside,"Talk to you then, have a nice train ride."

"Bye, Winry," She mumbled.

Al was waiting for her down stairs, smiling as usual. He picked up his suitcase, but not the other, knowing that Ed always carried her luggage herself.

"Ready?"

Ed forced a smile," Yeah, let's go."

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A/N: I couldn't leave her name as 'Edward' since in the FMA world none of the female characters seem to have names that are used for males. Their names are all very feminine, so I figured changing it would make more sense. I just picked the first name that began with 'Ed' and that was unappealing that I could think of.


	2. Chapter 2

Melting Point

A/N: The beginning of this started out as being part of chapter one, but it made it very long. So I waited until both chapters were finished before posting it. I got stuck at one point half-way through this chapter and it took forever to pick it back up again.

Disclaimer: I don't own Fullemtal Alchemist or any of the characters.

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Ch.2

Ed barely registered the ride to Central, she was too caught up in her own thoughts. She hadn't even noticed when the train had stopped at their station. Al had tapped her on the arm," Hey sis, we're here."

Ed blinked up at him," Oh, already?"

She grabbed her bag from under the seat and hurried off the train. The walk to the main building went by just as quickly, and Ed found herself stopping at the gate. She took a deep breath. Today was the day she would face him and get though it with out any problems. She was the Fullmetal Alchemist damnit, she refused to get worked up over something that Winry had reffered to as a 'crush'. She was stronger than that. Flat out denial? Yes, that would do nicely. Ed would pretend it wasn't him in the room, turn in her report, then haul ass out of his office.

"Uh, Ed? Are we going in?"

Al's voice brought her back to reality and she laughed and said, "Sorry, I was just thinking about the report."

Her brother smiled and nodded like he'd bought it, and didn't think she was losing her mind. If Al only knew the restraint it took on Ed's part to be alone in the General's office with him. Her brother had no idea how uncomfortable it was. It wasn't as if Mustang was doing anything obscene while she was there, or making passes at her. He would act completely non-chalant, read her report, ask a few questions, and then she would be dismissed. He would hardly even make eye contact anymore. When she had first joined the military at age twelve Ed hadn't given much thought to Mustang's appearance, at the time she had no interest in anything regarding sex. Her single-minded goal to retreive her lost limbs and her brother's body had cut out everything else all those years. Pity for her. Eight years later and it had now returned full-force and with a vengence. The most frustrating thing was, why him? None of the other males she came in contact with made her so uncomfortable. It annoyed her to no end. Hell, she would have preffered Havoc to Mustang. At least she could deal with him, he wasn't a smug bastard unlike someone else she knew. Just the thought of him made her burn with anger. Unfortunately she knew the second she stepped into his office and closed the door the burning would become a different kind. The kind she wasn't used to handling. Anger was familiar, this... this was close to scaring her.

Ed cleared her throat and proceeded to go inside. She kept repeating what she was going to do in her mind as she walked through the building, smiling and nodding to the personell she knew when they greeted her. Al paused to chat with Havoc and Breda, and told her that he'd wait for her there. It felt good to be back into her usual fast-paced stride, but her steps slowed as she began to once again dred what was more than likely going to occur. Mustang's door was closed, as usual. She raised up one hand as if to knock, but stopped just before her knuckles came in contact with the wood.

_Okay, Ed, you can do this, don't become agitated_, she thought.

She knocked, if a little too loudy, and was answered with "Come in" a moment later. The alchemist opened the door planning to act like she normaly did. Mustang was at his desk, reading a paper in front of him. Without looking up he spoke," Lock the door behind you, Fullmetal, then take a seat."

She frowned but didn't ask why, and did as he had said. She held her report out and he glanced up at it before taking it and opening the folder to read it. Her back was rigid in the seat as she tried to concentrate on anything except the man sitting in front of her. It was hard, but she would force herself if necessary. She opted to fix her gaze on the desk lamp, which was an improvement from the last time she was in there.The embarassment of realizing that she had been staring at his chest the entire time still made her turn red when she thought about it. She squeezed her eyes shut as they had begun gravitating towards the center of the desk.

_Nope, not paying attention to him at all,_ she told herself, turning to look at the file cabinet along one wall.

"Fullmetal."

"Hn?" She grunted, not wanting to turn her head back.

"Elric."

Ed sighed at the tone the General had spoken her last name with and didn't dare look him in the eyes, but instead stared past him at a point just over his shoulder.

"Care to explain?" He tilted the folder up in her direction.

She blinked in genuine confusion," Explain what?"

"Your report."

She smirked, attempting to pretend that nothing was wrong, Ed on a normal day would have made a snide remark," Can't read it yourself? Has your eye sight gone bad already?"

Her smirk faded when Mustang didn't react at all but instead leaned back slightly and opened a drawer on the side of his desk. From it he pulled six more folders which he then spread out one by one next to the report she'd just handed in.

"I've been noticing a pattern lately," He said, "the reports from the last five months have been far below your level."

He then pointed to the newest one, "This one is by far the worst. Your reports are many things, but they're never half-assed."

Ed momentarily forgot her personal dilemma to defend against him reffering to anything she did as 'half-assed', "I did the best I could under the circumstances."

The man looked thoughtful for a moment then pushed his seat back and stood up. Ed felt herself begin to gradualy tense up as he came closer. When he stopped Mustang was standing directly in front of her so that they were both in between the desk and the chair she was sitting in. There was less than three inches of space seperating them. If she tried to stand she'd have to touch him, she was effectivly trapped. Unless she lost her nerve and leaped over the back of the seat that is. The only thing that prevented her from doing just that was her refusal to do something so completely cowardly. That and the entire base would know of it by the next evening.

"And what circumstances were those?" Mustang asked, staring down at her as she visibly tried to avoid meeting his gaze.

She arched an eyebrow," What does it matter?"

"What ever happens to be effecting you this much needs to be dealt with."

Ed found herself counting the number of squares in the window behind him. Mustang was behaving oddly. A feeling a dread rose from her gut. Did he figure out what was going on? Was he just screwing with her for his own amusement? It certainly seemed like something he would pull.

"So I'll deal with it," She shrugged, "May I leave now?"

"Actually," A smirk slowly appeared on his face, "I think you sitting there while trying so hard to avoid looking at me is rather...cute."

"I am not fucking cute!" She sprang out of her seat and realized her mistake too late when it put her flush up against him. Taking into consideration he was also entire head taller than her meant her face was close enough to see the rise and fall of his chest as he breathed. Which in turn caused a large blush to spread accross her cheeks. When she could finally move again she let out an undignified yelp and flopped back into the chair. Mustang still hadn't moved, nor had he made any reaction other than the smirk that had not left his face.

Daring to glimpse up, she met his eyes, and her face turned redder at the expression in them. His face was his usual arrogantly amused one, but in his eyes was a look she'd never seen before. Feeling a surge of indignation at the fact he was obviously mocking her in some way she glared at him.

"You did that on purpose, you sonofabitch," She fumed.

"You're the one who jumped at me, I didn't do a thing."

"_I didn't jump at you_!" Ed hissed out from between her clenched teeth.

"Are you sure? It seems to me like you did, since you remained there for a while. It almost had me thinking you weren't going to move."

"You're imagining things, Mustang," She attempted to control another out break of blushing and failed.

"Am I?"

Ed stood up on the chair so that she could glare down at him, and heatedly pointed an index finger at him," Screw you! I'm not stupid enough to say anything you could use against me!"

"Oh, I have more than enough to use, trust me," He said," I'm just making sure there aren't any misunderstandings."

That made her blink," Misunderstandings about what?"

"About this."

She froze with her finger still extended when he took a step forward, titled his head up, and pressed his lips against hers. The office suddenly felt as if someone had transmuted it into a sauna. Her eyes were wide and her hand was uselessly clutching at the air like it wanted to grab onto something. Mustang took her wrist and placed her hand on his shoulder. Ed was too shocked to return the kiss and after a while of her being unresponsive he pulled back and sighed.

She stared with her mouth open, still standing on the chair. Of all the senarios she would have assumed could happen, that had not been on the list.

"So, " She managed to say after a minute or two." I'm guessing that was why you told me to lock the door."

Mustang chuckled," You catch on quickly, Fullmetal."

"But why did you... k...ki...," She stuttured finding herself unable to get the last part of the question out.

"Kiss you?"

Ed nodded.

"Do you really want me to answer such an obvious question?"

She thought for a moment, then sighed," No, I guess it doesn't matter."

"Good, then let's continue," He cleared his throat, "I have a...proposal for you."

"Not interested," She said quickly.

The man blinked at her then smiled, "No? I thought maybe being presented the chance to boss me around would appeal to you, but if it doesn't..."

He gave a casual shrug and she narrowed her eyes at him.

"Boss you around, huh? I thought you liked being the one in control."

"Yes, but I'd be more than willing to relinquish my command for a while, at least for what I have in mind."

Ed swallowed," What do you have in mind?"

"I'm glad you asked, "He smirked before turning and walking back to his desk.

She let out a deep breath and got down off the chair but remained standing. Mustang folded his hands in front of him on the desk top and continued.

"As you've probably realized by now, I know why you haven't been able to concentrate on your work. And being as I am the one causing you to lose your focus I've decided to take care of it myself," His smirk then grew to a wide smile," Since I doubt that any _teenage boy_ could satisfy you."

She felt her eye twitch.

"And I take it that you think you're _man_ enough for me?" Ed sneered.

"Are you doubting my capabilities?"

Ed frowned in thought. She knew of his reputation with women, and the rumor the General had dated two at one time on several occasions. The whole situation had yet to really sink in, she wondered for a moment if she were still on the train and was actually dreaming. Mustang was offering to sleep with her? Her mind returned to her orignal plan of 'hurry up and get the hell out'. Once she was a safe distance away she would be able to think properly.

She snorted, "You already gave me a demonstration. Wasn't too impressive."

"You mean the kiss? That was just a way to stop you from yelling. I wasn't trying to impress you. Would you like me to?"

Ed again found herself at a loss for words. One side of her was curious enough to maybe say yes, the other was screaming at her that she would regret it. She decided to play it safe.

"I don't trust you. You snuck that first one in when I had my guard down."

The General smiled, "As I said, I don't want any misunderstandings. The idea I have in mind would prevent that. Since it would allow you to be in control of the situation."

"How so?"

"Well, you would tell me to do something, and I'd comply. You'd be the higher ranking officer so to speak. I'd have to wait until you gave me the order to act. So that kiss I 'snuck in' would had to have been a command for it to have happened."

Having a hard time believing Mustang would let her have that much control she narrowed her eyes at him," What are you getting out of this? I know you're not doing it out of concern for me."

"I have every intention of giving you control, I'm not doing it to trick you."

She arched her eyebrow," And if I tell you to shove it?"

"Then we never had this conversation."

"And you wont mention it again?"

He nodded," Not unless you willingly bring it up."

Ed sighed. As interesting as the offer sounded, she knew it came with strings attached some where, she just couldn't see them yet.

"I have a feeling you wont follow my "orders" unless you want to."

Mustang smirked, "As long as they aren't meant to purposely humiliate me I wont object."

"Damn," she muttered, crossing her arms over her chest, "I knew there was a catch. I was considering dressing you up as a dog, and then making you run around in circles while chasing your tail. But... I guess that's not going to happen."

"I'm not sure whether to be amused by that image, or insulted."

"Like I care what you think."

He chuckled again," You're not going to make this simple, are you?"

"I'm not a simple person," she stated matter-of-factly.

"Oh, I already knew that," He then paused in thought for a moment before saying," If you like, you can think about it for a few days, I'm in no hurry."

Ed shrugged, knowing she'd end up thinking about it whether she wanted to or not," Fine."

Mustang nodded," Then have a pleasant afternoon. Dismissed."

He began putting the folders back into the desk drawer and she turned to leave. When she closed the office door behind her she let out a heavy sigh.

_I've lost my mind_, she thought as she went to look for Al.


	3. Chapter 3

**Melting Point**

A/N: Thank you to everyone who reviewed the first two chapters, even with all the errors I didn't notice when I read through it to edit. I did go back and fix them, funny how I kept finding more.

I actually updated two different stories two days in a row, amaizing. It usually takes me forever just to update _one_.

Oh, and Hughes is still alive in this story. Yes, I know that plot device has been done to death, but I know we all wished he'd survived. Plus he's loads of fun to write, and Mustang needs someone to drive him insane.

_Disclaimer: I don't own Full Metal Alchemist._

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Ch.3

_I've lost my mind_, He thought while leaning his elbows on his desk, his unfinished paper work forgotten. Roy Mustang almost never went through with a plan without first considering every possible senario and every possible outcome. In fact, he'd been thinking over this particular plan since Full Metal had celebrated her eighteenth birthday. However, he had never decided if it were a good idea to actually put it into motion. It had just been a fun daydream at first, a way to quell his boredom. Except now that was a past issue, the present one was much worse anyway. Ed now knew he was attracted to her, or at least he assumed she did, but to learn that she somehow reciprocated those feelings, that had surprised him.

At first he'd just been concerned that something was wrong, and had been completely truthfull when he told her that she'd been slacking on the quality of her reports. He'd thought for a while that she was just getting lazy now that a major chapter in her life was finally over. Then when she'd continuously avoided looking him in the eye, on top of ignoring him a few times, he'd realized that was not the case. In order to pry the information out of her he knew it would have to be by means of trickery. Although a dishonest method, one was forced to be sneaky in order to deal with someone so bull-headed.

Standing in front of her chair had been an attempt at intimidation. The comment about her avoidence being cute had just been due pay for Ed's crack at his age. He'd predicted she'd get angry, just as she always did, and he had been right. He had not predicted that she'd jump up out of her seat. A small oversight on his part.

Mustang was fortunate that all those years in the service of the military had given him exceptional self control. That and he'd be damned if he ever admitted to figuring it out _during_ the conversation rather than before.

Kissing her had just been a test on his theory. It certainly wasn't due to how endearing she looked while yelling at him and blushing. Of course not. He hated to admit it to himself, but a small part of him wished she had kissed back instead of being stunned.

So what if he was attracted to her, she was probably approached by guys all the time.

_Yeah, guys half your age_, a nagging voice in the back of his mind said.

Plus, it wasn't as if she was still a kid. A fourteen year age difference wasn't that big of a deal if both people in question were adults, right?

_...Hell, who am_ _I trying to convince?_

Brigadier General Roy Mustang. Flame Alchemist, war veteran, and now...

Cradle-robber.

He sighed, _My mother would kill me if she ever found out._

A knock at the door and Lt. Hawkeye peering into his office paused his thoughts.

"I'm sorry to interrup you sir, but your mother is on the line."

Mustang's eyebrows went up, _Shit. I forgot she was coming to visit this week... She always did have perfect timing._

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Ed fidgeted nervously while staring at the phone that was infront of her, it looked particularly foreboding at that moment. She really didn't want to call her, but she knew what would happen if she didn't. Winry would not be happy with her if she conveniently "forgot", but at the same time she had no desire to tell her what had transpired in Mustang's office just minutes earlier. Well, she didn't have to tell her _everything_ now did she? She could just... edit a few choice peices of information. Such as the last five minutes of their conversation. Winry didn't need to know about that.

She sucked in a deep breath and dialed the Rockbell's number. After a few rings a cheerfull voice answered, "Rockbell automail, how may I help you?"

"Hey Winry... it's me," She said.

"Ed!" the mechanic exclaimed loudly, then added with a laugh, "I actually expected you not to call, I guess that means I wont have to beat it out of you the next time I see you, huh?"

Ed scowled at the receiver for a moment before sighing and putting it back to her ear, "Yeah, great..."

She could almost picture Winry smiling with glee, "So... what happend? Spill, I want to hear everything."

"Er, nothing much... just..."

"Ed..." Winry cut in," you wouldn't happen to be planning on leaving anything out would you? Like anything _important_?"

The alchemist flinched, the other girl knew her far too well.

_So much for that plan._ "No, of course not, why would I do that?"

"Edith..." the mechanic chided.

She sighed in defeat," Alright, but you'd better swear to me you wont speak a word of this to Al."

"I swear!"

Ed did end up leaving out Mustang's offer, there were some things Winry _still_ didn't need to know, but did tell her about all of the embarrassing events that led up to that.

"Wow... he actually kissed you..."

She snorted," I'm sure he just did it to get back at me for the remark I made about his age, and he enjoys getting under my skin."

"Do you really think he'd go that far?"

"Yes," She said without hesitation.

"I don't know, a kiss is an awefully odd way to get back at someone for an insult."

"This is Mustang we're talking about here, Winry. I didn't call him 'Colonel Shit' for nothing."

The mechanic paused for a moment before saying, "I know, but... did you ever consider the possibility that he actually_ does_ find you attractive?"

"Whatever, even if he does it's not like he's ever going to get into my pants."

She wasn't sure what Winry's reply had been since a loud and unfortunately recognizable voice behind her almost caused her to drop the phone.

"Hey Eddie! How's it going?"

Ed gave a forced smile and turned to see none other than Maes Hughes standing there.

"Just talking to my mechanic."

"Oh, you mean Miss Rockbell? Great! I've been meaning to ask how she was doing!"

Before Ed could protest he took the phone from her," Hello Winry! It's Lt. Colonel Hughes! Remember me?"

As the man blabbed on about his daughter Ed wondered how much of the conversation he'd heard. Not that it mattered, he wasn't the sort of person to gossip about anything that didn't concern his child.

A few minutes later Hughes smiled and handed the receiver back to her, "Sorry about that, got carried away."

"It's okay."

He waved and turned to leave," I'll see you later. I'm off to see Roy."

"Bye, Lt. Colonel."

Right before he vanished around a corner he called over his shoulder," Remember to come visit Elysia some time soon! She'll be happy to see you!"

Ed picked the phone back up," you still there?"

"Yes... Ed?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you know how long he'd been standing there?"

She sighed," No idea, he tends to sneak up on you anyway, the man can be damn quiet for some one who talks so much."

Winry snickered," Wouldn't it be funny if he went and snitched to the General about what you said?"

"...No, it wouldn't be."

"I was just kidding, Ed, lighten up."


	4. Chapter 4

**Melting Point**

A/N: This chapter partially introduces an OC, Roy's mother, since I'm pretty sure she was never mentioned in cannon. Again, thank you to everyone who reviewed the previous chapter.

I would have had this up sooner, but I wasn't happy with it and rewrote the second half. I'm still not completely satified with it, but it is much better than the first version.

_Disclaimer: I don't own Full Metal Alchemist. I do own Roy's mom though... wait, that didn't sound right._

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Ch. 4

Whistling to himself, Hughes walked down the long hall towards Roy's office, with about twelve new photographs he had not had the joy of displaying to his friend just yet in his pocket. His expression was amiable enough, though no one could have guessed what he was currently thinking. He could have sworn Fullmetal had mentioned her favorite 'nickname' for Mustang before saying... something about her pants. In his opinion those two lines should not have been in the same conversation. He shrugged it off as he reached the office and opened the door without knocking.

Mustang was sitting at his desk, talking on the phone. The General looked up to see who had just come in and his expression went from slightly bored to doing a good impression of a deer caught in headlights. Hughes grinned. He knew that expression.

"Say Roy, who's that you're talking to?" He walked over to the desk and leaned over him," It wouldn't happen to be your _mom_, would it?"

He was given a look that promised unparalleled agony but took the phone from his hand and interrupted their conversation anyway. Besides, Roy never carried out his threats against him.

"Is that you, Adrianna?" He said to the other person on the line.

A woman's voice replied, "Maes?"

"I figured it was you, considering the look your son got on his face when I walked in. I take it you're coming to visit soon."

"Yes, I'm taking the train in tomorrow," She laughed, "How have you been? It's been a while since I've talked to you."

"Great! Gracia and I are trying for kid number three," he said while leaning on the edge of the desk, his back to Roy.

"Number three? When did you manage to have the second one?"

He blinked," Oh, that's right! You haven't met Jacob. Wow, has it been that long? He's almost three!"

"The last time I remember your daughter was close to five. She must be eight by now."

"That's right! Well, you'd be _amaized_ at how big she's gotten..."

He then proceeded to tell her about the last three years of Elysia's life, and would have started on his son if he hadn't been interrupted with Roy impatiently clearing his throat. He turned to look over his shoulder at Mustang, who was glaring at him.

He smiled and got off the desk, "Looks like I'd better give the phone back, I'll have lots of pictures ready to show you when you get here though!"

"I'll be looking forward to it."

"Alright, see you then!"

He handed the phone back and Roy spoke with her for a few minutes before hanging up. Hughes smiled when his friend sighed then looked up at him with a scowl.

"...What? Were you actually not going to tell me your mother was coming to visit?" Maes said.

Roy remained silent.

He pouted in mock hurt, "That's not very nice," he then grinned, "Besides, I get along so well with Adrianna."

"Don't think that I'm not aware of what you two talk about together."

Hughes smiled innocently, "You mean about my precious children?"

"I mean about my love life!" He snapped.

They stared at each other in silence for a moment.

"Well, Roy, it's not like your love life is a secret or anything." He finally shrugged.

The other man growled, his hand raising as if he were about to snap his fingers. Thankfully his glove was sitting safely in the top drawer of his desk.

"Wow, you're in a really foul mood today, did Fullmetal get under your skin that much?"

Mustang's expression went blank and he lowered his hand," No."

His reply was followed by another ten seconds of silence as Hughes stared scrutinizingly at him. Maes had always been good at puzzles. Sift through all the available pieces until you find enough of them that fit together, then start building from there. He'd been putting the current puzzle he was working on together since the beginning of that year, and it definitely required more pieces in order to start making sense. Right now it was a collection of many small parts that still didn't connect together. Except he wasn't sure if he had found more pieces, or an entirely new puzzle itself.

It wasn't as if he was purposefully eavesdropping on people. He was very observant, he just happened to notice and hear things that most people overlooked. Half of the stuff he heard he'd keep to himself. The rest, if it concerned people he knew, and if it would do them good to expose the information, he was more gossipy than a nosey old woman with too much time on her hands. After he learned more, he would then decide if this particular bit of gossip was a good thing to expose. He rubbed his chin in thought.

_Roy's never this angry when his mother comes to visit, even with her and myself constantly pesturing him to get married. I wonder... it can't be Fullmetal that's got him this worked up... he usually just laughs all of her insubordination off.. or at least he used to. Heck, maybe she finally did something to make him angry, but if she had he'd talk about it. So then why..._

"_Hughes_."

The sound of his name being spoken in an irritated tone made him blink and look at Mustang, his chain of thought broken.

"If you don't mind I need to get back to my paperwork."

Hughes then got an idea. Perhaps letting some of the information slip wasn't such a bad thing. "Oh, sorry, just thinking of earlier when I saw Eddie talking on the phone."

The General arched an eyebrow, "Oh?"

"Yeah, she seemed a little stressed. At least to me anyway. She was in here just before that, right?"

Mustang nodded.

"Did she let on that anything was wrong?"

There was long pause before he answered," Not really. Why?"

He shrugged," Just wondering. Well, I'll talk to you later, Roy."

Maes gave a casual salute and went for the door. As he was just about to close it he could have sworn he heard Mustang curse softly.

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_What the hell was that about?_ Roy frowned at the now closed door.

Hughes had walked in before he was about to hang up, damn his unlucky timing. He knew his friend would talk his mother's ear off and really didn't have the patience to listen to it. He expected being interrupted, but Hughes asking about Ed out of the blue was suspicious. He knew how sharp Maes was, despite the facade he put up. How much did he actually know? There was no possible way he could make an exact guess, even if he had heard Fullmetal's phone conversation. Except that was another problem entirely, he had to focus on the current one first. No need to get ahead of himself.

How large of a chance was there that Elric would actually say yes? Even during the conversation with his mother the question hadn't left his thoughts completely. He could only guess how much stress the situation had caused the female alchemist. Then again, it was causing _him_ just as much stress. And the biggest question he kept asking himself was if she did happen to come to a descision, and even agreed to go through with it, would _he_ be able to? Regardless of whether or not he'd instigated the whole mess unless he was just as willing, it wasn't going to work. At the moment he'd offered himself as an option to help relieve her tension with he wouldn't have hesitated at all if she had said yes right there. He told himself he would, just not to miss out on such a rare opportunity. It wasn't guilt that was making him feel this way, just caution. He didn't want anyone to think he was a perverted bastard. Well, excluding Ed, who most likely thought that anyway.

Though one issue was hounding him more than the others. No matter how any outsider would look at it, he was the higher ranking officer, he was the older one, he was the male. In spite of how much control he gave Ed it would _still_ seem like he was taking advantage of her. Damned double-standards.

_I wonder how long it's going to take her to decide? She leaves in... two days. _

He was glad the train that went to the small town she was returning to didn't come frequently.

-------------------------------------------------------------

As she lay on her stomach on her bed, her automail arm dangling off the edge, Ed was torn between two simple words. Yes or no.

While no would be much easier to say, it wouldn't end the problem. In fact, it might just make it worse. Even if she refused the offer, her attraction to him would not fade immediately after. She would still be losing her concentration, she would still be turning in crappy reports. If she said yes...

She blushed, remembering the expression in his eyes.

Had he meant what he said? Though he had stated that he didn't want any misunderstandings between them, she was confused as ever. How long ago had his attraction to her began? One year, two years, or less? She hadn't noticed anything out of the ordinary before the start of the current year, but she could have been mistaken. Above all else, what were his true intentions with her?

_Maybe I should just friggin' ask him...he might tell me._ She thought with a sigh. Ed pushed herself up into a sitting postition. It was decided. She'd go back and demand answers the next morning.


End file.
